Currently, I drive 50 miles each way to work and home, and I'm driving an xB (roughly 29miles/gal). I usually keep the e92 for the friday drives, but after a trackday at thunderhill (willows, ca), I'm inclined to sell the box and look for an e36 coupe or sedan (non M).

What do you think? are E36's reliable as a commuter? I was browsin through the 5k-8k range on craigslist and found that most of the cars have about 100K miles on em.

Or, what is the best commuter car to even have (aside from prius since that seems to be king commuter) in the used 5k-10k range? A miata would be a nice little toy to have but it can really hold much (a basketball and a pump at most!).

Thanks for the input, also if you can explain why you commute with the particular car that you have. Thanks.

Get a Geo Prizm. It's literally the same thing as a Toyota Corolla but with Geo badges. The brand makes the resale crap but it's a good old Corolla underneath.

In terms of E36s, the 325/328s are good cars with good motors that can last a LONG time. The cooling system needs to be redone, a few suspension parts also need to be replaced after about 70k miles, but all said and done it's a damn solid car. The automatic trannies don't last that long though, it's the manuals that really go the high miles. You can probably source auto trannies for those cars all day long though. EDGE Motorworks in Dublin is also the E36 expert around here and they can get just about any decent condition E36 back in tip top shape.

ah nice, so maybe if i get the e36 i'll run it by edge first before buying?

i got the scion, and our work builds corollas, the geo is a good car, but also cant double as a fun little track car

Yeah, definitely run it by EDGE first, they'll know all the little problems if the car has them. If you want a little track car on the side too then just get the E36, nothing would really come close IMO. Miata maybe, if you like those cars and can stomach the image.

I personally wouldn't commute in a Geo Metro or similar crap-box. 1 crash and you're pretty much good as dead. I'll take the hit in mileage for a larger and safer car.

Currently alternating between my 335 and my Integra. I plan on selling the integra and getting an 09 Civic SI. I still want some fun factor with my commuter along with fuel efficiency and the SI seems to fit that.

I commute with an rsx-s and it gets pretty good gas mileage. The highest I've gotten on a road trip was almost 35mpg. It's also dead reliable and has great resale value, but it's somewhat expensive to insure.

I commute in my Z4M right now, but I'm less than 5 miles from work so no big. What's best depends on what you're looking for in your commute. I'd want decent handling, comfort, and mileage, so I'd likely go with a 325i or 325Ci. I had a 325i until I got the Z4MC and liked it, and I'm thinking of getting another as my beater, to keep my M nice.